Latest news with #OpeAdetayo
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nigeria detains soldiers, police over weapons sales to armed groups
By Ope Adetayo ABUJA (Reuters) -The Nigerian military has detained over two dozen soldiers and members of the police force over sales of weapons from military stockpiles to armed groups, including Islamist insurgents, a spokesperson said. Africa's most populous country and biggest energy producer, Nigeria is battling insecurity on many fronts, including a long-running insurgency in the northeast and armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest. Captain Reuben Kovangiya, spokesperson for the military's anti-insurgency operation, said the arrests were part of a crackdown on racketeering involving ammunition. Local media reported that 18 soldiers, 15 policemen and eight civilians were taken into custody. "It is part of the counter-arms and ammunition racketeering operation conducted in every theatre of operations," Kovangiya told Reuters. "If any personnel engage in any act that is inimical to the system, they are arrested and tried." Kovangiya did not elaborate on the types and numbers of weapons sold but said the suspects would be prosecuted. Nigeria has this year experienced a surge in attacks by militants from Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, who have overrun some military bases in the northeastern state of Borno. In the course of most of the raids, militants have seized weapons from army bases.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nigeria's Tinubu touts economic gains at mid-term but inflation and insecurity persist
By Ope Adetayo ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday marked his second anniversary in office by declaring that his economic reforms were working, but international bodies have warned of persistent economic and security problems. Since 2023, Tinubu's policies - the removal of a costly petrol price subsidy, cuts to electricity price subsidies, and two currency devaluations - have triggered the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, fuelled by inflation rates of more than 23%. "Our economic reforms are working. We are on course to building a greater, more economically stable nation," Tinubu said in an anniversary statement. He said the measures were needed to avert a severe fiscal crisis that would have led to "runaway inflation, external debt default, and a plunging Naira and an economy in a free-fall." Tinubu said the fiscal deficit has narrowed sharply to 3.0% of GDP in 2024 from 5.4% in 2023, supported by improved government revenue generation. He claimed inflation had begun to ease, but this is largely because the index was rebased for the first time in more than a decade. The World Bank has said that Nigeria's fiscal position has improved in recent months, but warned that persistently high inflation remains a challenge. Tinubu said security has improved, claiming banditry in Nigeria's northwest has been curbed, highways are safer, and farmers are "back tilling the land". But attacks and kidnappings persist, and insecurity continues across various regions. Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday that at least 10,217 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in the two years since Tinubu took office. His ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party has endorsed him to run for a second and final term in the next election, due in early 2027. (Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja; writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; editing by Giles Elgood)
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nigerian lawmakers probe USAID-funded non-profit groups, others, document shows
By Ope Adetayo ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigerian lawmakers are probing the activities of more than a dozen non-profit organisations and demanded they submit within a week tax and financial statements dating back a decade, a letter seen by Reuters showed, prompting accusations of "bullying". The groups affected include some who were previously funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington's primary humanitarian aid agency whose work has been largely frozen by the Trump administration for 90 days pending assessments of their effectiveness. A committee of Nigeria's House of Representatives sent out letters to groups involved in human rights and accountability work, including Transparency International Nigeria, informing them of the probe "with a view to unravelling their real identities, sources of funding and what they expend their monies on". The letter said the investigation was a response to comments made last month by U.S. Congressman Scott Perry who, without providing evidence, said USAID had funneled money to various Islamist groups worldwide, including Boko Haram in Nigeria. The U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, rejected Perry's assertion regarding Boko Haram. Nigerian lawmakers are demanding audited statements from the civil society groups, their sources of funding and how they spent their money between 2015 and 2024. Some of the groups said the investigation was an excuse to undermine their work and amounted to a clampdown on free speech. "On the basis of hearsay, just an unfounded allegation and lack of any proven evidence from either Nigerian security or Nigerian financial agencies, the national assembly will embark on this walk," Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, head of Transparency International in Nigeria, told Reuters. Abiodun Baiyewu, the executive director of Global Rights, which is also being investigated, said of the investigation: "It is a brazen attempt at bullying the non-profit sector and not done in good faith." House of Representatives spokesperson Akin Rotimi said the probe was not intended to harass non-profit organisations but that the allegations made by the U.S. Congressman were "too weighty to be dismissed". "It is to gain a clearer understanding of how these funds have been managed over the years to determine whether there have been any lapses," he told Reuters. Parliamentary committees in Nigeria can investigate any issue deemed of national interest and their reports if adopted by a majority of lawmakers can lead to the arrest or prosecution of groups or individuals.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nigeria to appoint ambassadors, 18 months after worldwide recall, sources say
By Ope Adetayo ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's government has started vetting potential candidates to lead its more than 100 diplomatic missions, with appointments expected "very soon", 18 months after President Bola Tinubu recalled all ambassadors, sources familiar with the matter said. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, has operated without ambassadors since September 2023. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The minister of foreign affairs has previously blamed a lack of funds for the delay in naming new diplomats. A government source told Reuters that the issue "is being resolved" and "that means the appointment will be announced very soon." Nigeria's security services were conducting background checks on possible appointees and had started sharing their findings with the relevant agencies within the presidency and legislature, an intelligence official told Reuters. A spokesperson from the presidency referred questions to the foreign affairs ministry, which declined to comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak on the matter. Since coming to power in May 2023, Tinubu has prioritised fixing Nigeria's struggling economy, with foreign policy taking a back seat, said a former ambassador who served in Africa and the United States. The government has this year budgeted 302.4 billion naira ($198.30 million) to run its foreign missions. The former Nigerian ambassador said he was informed by government officials that the issue of the absence of ambassadors in their countries had come up in discussions between Tinubu and some foreign leaders. "Assurance had been given that they will soon be appointed," said the former ambassador, who declined to be named. ($1 = 1,525.0000 naira)
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nigeria to receive leprosy drugs after a year-long delay
By Ope Adetayo and Jennifer Rigby NASARAWA, Nigeria (Reuters) -The World Health Organization says it will send leprosy drugs to Nigeria this weekend after resolving testing hold-ups that contributed to a year-long delay in thousands of patients, including children, getting the medicine they need to prevent irreversible disability. Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria reports over 1,000 cases of leprosy yearly, a disease caused by a bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae, and mainly affecting the skin, peripheral nerves, and eyes. It is curable with multi-drug therapy, but without treatment, the disease progresses and causes disfiguring sores and disabilities like blindness and paralysis. Patients also face significant stigma. But Nigeria ran out of stock of the multi-drug therapy in early 2024 as a bureaucratic delay in supplies and new domestic testing regulations on imported medicines held up the drugs in India, where one of the components is made. A WHO spokesperson told Reuters that Nigeria had run out of leprosy medications, and the U.N. health agency, which organises shipments of the drug, had asked for a one-time waiver on the new testing policy. In January that waiver was granted. "A dispatch of leprosy drugs from India has been confirmed for 8 March, with arrival in Nigeria on 9 March," the spokesperson said by email. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The delay, which caused significant suffering in Nigeria, is just one example of the vulnerability of a global system that has seen stockouts in countries including India, Brazil and Indonesia in recent years, the U.N. special rapporteur for leprosy told Reuters. 'THE PAIN IS WORSE' At ERCC Hospital in Nasarawa state, 200 km (124 miles) west of the capital Abuja, only two leprosy patients were admitted when Reuters visited in February, after 26 others had been sent home since last year due to the shortage, raising the risk of spreading the infectious disease, which is thought to spread through respiratory droplets and prolonged contact. Awwal Musa, one of the patients, said her health had deteriorated in the past year since her treatment stopped. All her fingers were clawed and her legs discharged pus. "Before last year, my wounds were getting healed but now they are getting worse. The pain is worse," she told Reuters during a visit to the health facility. Health workers at ERCC said their goal in the past year was to prevent patients from being permanently disabled. "If they lose their fingers, where are you going to get the fingers and give them again? If they lose their sight, who will give them sight? The complications are increasing day by day," said Kuzeh Thomas, a director at the hospital. WHO data shows that Nigeria is one of 12 countries reporting between 1,000 to 10,000 cases annually, behind Brazil, India and Indonesia. Each country requests leprosy doses, a capsular medication, administered over a period of 12 months, from the WHO every year. Health sources said Nigeria's request was late. Nigeria's National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control did not respond to a request for comment. The drugs are made by Novartis and donated for free to a WHO programme. Health sector sources said Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control required additional testing for doses produced by Sandoz, a spin-off company of Novartis, when the shipment reached Nigeria, because that component was made in Indian facilities. Sandoz did not respond to requests for comment. Novartis said it "remained committed to work towards the eradication of this disease" without giving further detail. Quontrol, an India-based laboratory, told Reuters that it inspected the drugs but did not release the results of the inspection. The drugs were submitted for testing in Nigeria in November, and got approval in December 2024. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, Beatriz Miranda-Galarza, told Reuters that "while the MDT (multi-drug therapy) distribution system appears well-structured on paper, in practice, it faces significant structural and political challenges." Sunday Udoh, head of non-profit Leprosy Mission Nigeria added: "This is the first time we are seeing this kind of very strange, very painful situation where leprosy patients who belong to the poorest of the poor are not able to access this life-saving medication."
